Sunday, July 13, 2014

Bill Mollison Permaculture Lecture Series, On-Line
Note: NetWorks Productions Inc. holds the
copyrights to this on-line series. We ask that our copyrights be
honored.
In addition, "Permaculture" is a copyrighted word. Only those who have
completed a 72-hour design course are authorized to use the word in
commerce.

Who is Bill Mollison?These videos are
documents from two design courses taught by Bill Mollison at the Fossil
Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose Texas in 1994 and 1995. They are a
definitive selection from our original 16 part series. These tapes bear
many viewings and will benefit anyone who wants to learn how to help
regenerate the earth - from back yard to bio-region. Teachers of
permaculture have found these tapes to be a valuable coaching tool -
edited to one hour.

Efficiency of energy,
resources, and time, and the creation of highly productive systems are
the results of good Permaculture design. The methods are obvious once we
have become co-creative with the forces of nature.
Download video (159 MB)

Find out why it is so
important to grow your own food and how to install the easiest, and
highly productive, home food propagation systems; mulch garden, potato
box, herb's spiral, and more. You don't need much space. These are basic
Permacultural techniques.
Download video (151 MB)

These are very specific trees which are used around the world for their ability to improve
soils. They are invaluable in range for livestock, as well as in fields under cultivation.
Download video (163 MB)

What is cultura
promiscua? To maintain functional bio-diversity is a basic tenet of
Permaculture. Severely degraded land can be easily restored to highly
productive land by using good observation techniques, plants and animals
in succession, and common sense.
Download video (153 MB)

... a continuation of
#10. Two main techniques: the chisel-plow, and the wonders of worms and
how to cultivate them. The patterns described in these two videos can be
replicated in any type of Permaculture system, and scaled to any size.
Download video (159 MB)

...a continuation of
the Trees video. Potable water - where does it come from? How did it get
there? What has become of it? What we can do to ensure that we will
have safe water to drink, and to conserve as much of this precious
material as possible.
Download video (157 MB)

Once one has learned to
harvest water, then the real fun begins with production of the myriad of
foods and marketable commodities hosted by ponds and other water-rich
environments.
Download video (151 MB)

There are a multitude
of ways to harvest, conserve, and utilize water. These strategies apply
to coastal regions or islands with with zero precipitation, arid lands,
as well as to areas with plentiful seasonal rainfall.
Download video (163 MB)

As desert is rapidly
claiming vast areas of our planet, millions are on the verge of
starvation. Yet, crops which occur naturally in arid land can provide
all necessary nutrition for people and animals. The strategies discussed
arise from years of observation in the deserts of Australia and from
the peoples of Kalahari.
Download video (163 MB)

... continuation of
Drylands 1. Never, never irrigate the desert. The devastation caused by
irrigation of arid land is irreparable. But there are alternatives:
methods to set up a drought proof system. This is serious Permaculture!
Download video (163 MB)

Thursday, July 10, 2014

If children live with criticism,They learn to condemn.If children live with hostility,They learn to fight.If children live with ridicule,They learn to be shy.If children live with shame,They learn to feel guilty.If children live with encouragement,They learn confidence.If children live with tolerance,They learn to be patient.If children live with praise,They learn to appreciate.If children live with acceptance,They learn to love.If children live with approval,They learn to like themselves.If children live with honesty,They learn truthfulness.If children live with security,They learn to have faith in themselves and others.If children live with friendliness,They learn the world is a nice place in which to live.(1972/1975 by Dorothy Law Nolte)

Born in 1924, Dorothy Law Nolte became a parent educator, family counselor, and writer known for her inspirational poem, Children Learn What They Live. First published in 1954, it was pasted to refrigerators, printed on posters, and distributed to millions of parents by a baby formula maker.

As a researcher, I am always delving into the latest study and looking for cause and effect relationships that show how children develop. Sometimes though, I find a refreshing simplicity in the words of a poem. When I came across this poem by Dorothy Law Nolte I envisioned numerous research studies that support her assertions. I thought I would post it for your enjoyment. Who knows, maybe you’ll paste it to your refrigerator!

Dorothy Law Nolte died in 2005 at the age of 81. Her legacy as a parent educator, practitioner, and family counselor taught many people about family dynamics and parenting.

Children and teens find meaning and purpose in life when they develop and listen to their own internal compasses. How does this guidance system emerge? Through adult support and relevant learning experiences! Hover over the compass points to see the eight internal strengths and their related skills. Explore articles by clicking on a compass point. Download an expanded, free Internal Compass Handout for use in discussions with parents, educators, and community leaders.

If you question today’s notions of success and wonder how adults really
affect the growth and well-being of today’s digital generation,
download this free eBook by developmental psychologist, Marilyn
Price-Mitchell, PhD.

Price-Mitchell makes an argument that measuring success by grades and
test scores alone is not enough. In fact, it is a practice that is
hurting our children. How do we instill the types of skills and
abilities that cannot be measured by numbers, including effort, critical
thinking, collaboration, respect, caring, honesty, open-mindedness,
initiative, and imagination?

Discover how children learn to be successful by developing an
internal compass that guides them through life. Then ask yourself what
lessons you learned from the adults who parented, taught, and mentored
you. How will you share your story with the children you parent, teach,
or mentor?

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Written in a conversational style, this book introduces students to
the foundations of intercultural communication, a vibrant discipline
within the field. Authors Stella Ting-Toomey and Leeva Chung take a
multicontextual, inclusive approach that balances international and
intercultural communication issues against U.S. domestic diversity
issues. In addition to emphasizing a value-oriented perspective on
intercultural encounters, the text contains a robust ethical chapter,
complete with specific guidelines that will help students become ethical
intercultural communicators.

By integrating current empirical research with lively
intercultural examples, the authors ask thought-provoking questions and
pose ethical dilemmas for students to ponder. The text offers a
sprawling treatment of such topics as ethnic and cultural identity
change, culture shock and intercultural adjustment, romantic
relationships and raising bicultural children, global identity
challenges, and decision-making choices in intercultural ethics.

Use the links at the left to learn more about the book. Read the
Preface, review the table of contents, and check out information on new
features, custom chapters, and supplements.

Five Ways to Well-being

The Five Ways to Well-being are a set of evidence-based actions which promote people’s wellbeing. They are: Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give. These activities are simple things individuals can do in their everyday lives.

The Five Ways to Well-being were developed by nef from evidence
gathered in the UK government’s Foresight Project on Mental Capital and
Wellbeing. The Project, published in 2008, drew on state-of-the-art
research about mental capital and mental wellbeing through life. It
asked nef to develop the Five Ways to Wellbeing to communicate its key
findings.

The Five Ways have been used by health organisations, schools and
community projects across the UK and around the world to help people
take action to improve their wellbeing. They’ve been used in lots of
different ways, for example to get people to start thinking about
well-being, to develop organisational strategy, to measure impact, to
assess need, for staff development, and to help people to incorporate
more well-being-promoting activities into their lives.

Research shows that teaching social and emotional skills like
kindness improves behavior and academic success. We believe it does even more than that — it creates conditions which lead to a caring
environment for students, teachers and community members. Everyone benefits when individuals, schools, and communities embrace kindness.

Our Core Beliefs

Everyone is intrinsically kind, and sometimes we need reminding.

All children want to learn, and can learn kindness.

Social and emotional learning and academics go hand-in-hand.

Teaching kindness-centered skills nurtures a school culture where caring for self and others is an important community value.

Welcome Educators

For any educational context, from preschool and elementary through
the teen years, in schools large and small as well as home-school, we
provide resources to supplement, complement, and support positive
behavior goals. You'll find excellent resources like our free lesson plans, kindness project ideas, downloadable calendars and graphics, and more.

Kindness Resources

We offer a variety of other kindness resources that are sure to
inspire kindness in you and your students. You can download and share kindness calendars, posters, cards, and videos.

Kindness Clubs

If you really like doing random acts of kindness and don't
already have a club in your school, perhaps you should start a RAK Club.
Visit our Kindness Clubs page for helpful tips on getting started. Once you get going, we'll list your club on our website.

Kindness Research

Is there science behind kindness? There is evidence that being
kind can make a real difference to the well-being and health of
individuals who both practice and receive it. Find the latest kindness
research here.